Common Core State Standards in New Mexico

Common Core State Standards in New Mexico outline the math and English Language Arts learning objectives for students in kindergarten through 12. Read on to learn about the standards and resources for New Mexico educators who are implementing them.

New Mexico's Common Core State Standards

In 2010, New Mexico joined more than 40 other states in adopting the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics. In adopting these standards, New Mexico opted to also add state-specific ELA standards that emphasize texts reflecting local culture.

All standards outline what students should learn in each grade but are not a specific curriculum. Rather, they serve as a guide from which local school districts may develop appropriate curricula.

Math Standards

The Common Core math standards contain practical skills that students should learn across all mathematical disciplines at all grades. These are:

Understanding and solving problems

Abstract and quantitative reasoning

Mathematical arguments and reasoning

Modeling

Using appropriate tools

Communicating clearly

Understanding repeated reasoning

Patterns and structure

Along with those mathematical practice standards, Common Core outlines specific skills and knowledge students should master as they progress from kindergarten through high school. These standards are arranged into domains, or groups. There are specific standards for each grade for kindergarten through grade 8. Grades K - 5 share similar domains and grades 6 - 8 share a different set of domains. Within each domain, the standards increase in complexity at each grade level. For grades 9 - 12, standards are broken down by math discipline, rather than grade level.

ELA Standards

The Common Core ELA standards focus on four key areas - reading, writing, speaking and listening, and language - at all grade levels. Reading and writing literacy standards also exist for history, science social studies, and technical subjects for grades 6 - 12. The latter do not focus on subject matter within those disciplines, but are designed to ensure that students gain literacy in these areas. Individual standards are provided for each grade level for grades K - 8, and in two-year groupings for grades 9 - 10 and 11 - 12, but all are arranged around overarching anchor standards that define the skills and knowledge students will need when they graduate from high school.

Focus Area

Anchor Standards

Reading

Making inferences and conclusions, using evidence, analyzing themes and content; interpreting word usage and meaning; analyzing point of view and text structure; analyzing arguments, evidence and reasoning in written, visual and quantitative content; understanding age-appropriate literature and other types of texts

Writing

Composing arguments based on reasoning and evidence; constructing clearly written explanatory, narrative and informational texts using appropriate writing techniques and structure; editing and rewriting texts; collaboratively publishing writing; researching topics effectively and accurately using various tools and evidence gathered from texts; writing both short- and long-form texts that appropriate address objectives and audiences

Speaking and Listening

Effectively working with others; understanding and presenting information digitally, quantitatively, verbally, and visually; analyzing the effectiveness of oral presentations; using formal and informal speech appropriately

Language

Showing mastery of English language conventions both verbally and in writing; understanding how language usage impacts meaning and comprehension; using context and other tools to determine the meaning of vocabulary; understanding figurative speech and the relationships between words; learning age-appropriate vocabulary that prepares one for college and the workforce

New Mexico's Additions to Common Core ELA Standards

In addition to the ELA standards listed above, New Mexico adopted additional standards to make reading, writing, language, and speaking and listening instruction more relevant to New Mexico's culture. While these standards reflect a range of skills and knowledge, they emphasize cultural perspectives, including:

Learning myths from different ethnic groups and cultures around the world

Understanding different societies and cultures and their impact on self-identity

Studying oral and tribal histories

Working cooperatively in multi-cultural settings

Reading and analyzing Native American and Hispanic texts and literature

Study.com Common Core Resources

Study.com offers dozens of online courses to help teachers implement Common Core State Standards. These courses feature video lessons that may be used as supplemental instructional tools or to help inspire lesson plans.

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